‘Cover Stories’ Archives
Historic Messiah Church demolished!
HARVEY WINJEBy early afternoon August 21, 2018 only the Messiah Church Balcony, main entrance with Bell Tower, and office portion of this 101 year old Community and Architectural Historic building remains adjacent to the Clinics and 700 car parking ramp already built on Block 5 Chicago/Columbus E. 25th and 26th Streets where Children”'s Hospital previously demolished the entire block contrary to legal and ethical binding Covenant with the Phillips Community and neighbors. Children”'s Hospital completes demolition of Block 5 and community's TRUST BY HARVEY WINJE Children”'s Minnesota spent over 1 million dollars to buy and demolish (during the last two weeks of August 2018) the last structure on Block 5 between Chicago and Columbus Avenues and East 25th Street and East 26th Streets. Children”'s Minnesota at its Minneapolis location violated the Covenant they and other hospitals have had with the Phillips Community for decades when they purchased and now [...]
Houses and churches demolished! But loss of trust is the larger tragedy!
BY HARVEY WINJE A personal note of transparency: 1953: At age 13, I was taught to trust leaders by Reverend Dr. Leonard Kendall, Messiah Church Pastor, in the Catechism class in the basement of that same church. He strictly taught that when in class or in the Sanctuary facing the leader at the front, we were never to glance back or worry about any noise or activity behind us because our trust must be in the leader at the front who will always have our backs! It is uncertain whether that advice came from his U.S. Marine Corp training or Biblical study. In either case, he was wrong. Subsequent leadership betrayed trust. The leader cannot always be trusted! 1973: Twenty years later, Messiah Church Pastor Rev. Peter Erickson stood in the Sanctuary strictly advocating that the Messiah Congregation, Minnesota Lutheran Church in America (MNLCA) and the national LCA deny a funding request from the American Indian Movement (AIM) because of how they would use the money. AIM, founded in [...]
Confluence of people, stories, organizations, and betrayal
History”'s woven web: “Newspapers are the first rough DRAFT of history.” BY HARVEY WINJE Cathy”'s Grade ”˜A”' Café, mentioned in Donna Neste”'s tribute to Wizard Marks, was a storefront in a corner building at 25th and Chicago Avenue designed by Alexander, Fraser, Rose””Architect and built by Simonson Construction Company for Dr. Olaf A. Olson who lived on the same block in a beautiful house on a double lot with a small orchard and garden at 2516 Chicago Avenue. Project for Pride in Living bought the house for an office, tool library, and headquarters in the late 1970s during which time an Alley Newspaper Office was there while Luke Longstreet Sullivan, a Vista Volunteer, was Editor of 7 issues from May to December 1977. PPL sold the double lot and house with three garages and at least two other lots and houses to a developer amassing all of the properties on the block to sell surreptitiously to Children”'s Hospital because it [...]
